The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, raised in 1702. Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation wa ...

it amalgamated with the

70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot The 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Formation The fo ...

to form the

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

in 1881.

History

Origins

In 1694, during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

, Sir Richard Atkins was authorised to raise a regiment of foot for service in Ireland. Sir Richard Atkins's Regiment of Foot was duly formed. In 1694 the colonelcy of the unit changed and it became Colonel George Villier's Regiment of Foot. With the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 the war came to an end. Villier's Regiment was duly disbanded in 1698. By 1702 England was again involved in a European conflict which became known as the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. Villiers was commissioned to reform his regiment as marines.Rudolf, p. 309–317 In February 1702 George Villier's Regiment of Marines (or the 2nd Regiment of Marines) was reraised.Swinson, p. 128 The unit took part in the capture and defence of Gibraltar in July 1704. It subsequently took part in a number of actions in Spain and the Mediterranean, including the capture of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

. The regiment's title changed with the name of its colonel: Alexander Luttrell in 1703, Joshua Churchill in 1706 and Sir Henry Goring in 1711. With the signing of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

in 1713 the war came to an end. The majority of the marine regiments were disbanded, with some retained and converted to line infantry. Gorings Marines were one of these and became Sir Henry Goring's Regiment of Foot, with precedence as the 31st regiment of foot. The unit saw action repelling the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, ...

. They then spent twenty-six years manning garrisons in Ireland and England.

War of the Austrian Succession

The regiment sailed to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

in summer 1742 and took part in the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743. It was at this engagement that the unit received the nickname "Young Buffs". They were part of a force led into action by King George II who mistook them for the 3rd Regiment of Foot, who were known as '"the Buffs" due to their buff facings and waistcoats, the sovereign called out, "Bravo, Buffs! Bravo!". When one of his aides, an officer of the 3rd Regiment of Foot, corrected the monarch, he then cheered, "Bravo, Young Buffs! Bravo!". It was subsequently at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by ...

in May 1745, where it suffered heavy losses, and the

Battle of Melle The Battle of Melle was an Meeting engagement, encounter battle fought on 9 July 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession, between forces of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, Pragmatic Allies and the French. After their defeat at Battle of F ...

in July 1745, returning to England in October 1745. The regiment was posted to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...

in 1749. On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant was issued declaring that in future regiments were no longer to be known by their colonel's name, but by the ''"Number or Rank of the Regiment"''. Accordingly, Lieutenant-General Henry Holmes's Regiment was renamed as the 31st Regiment of Foot. The regiment returned to the United Kingdom in 1752. A second battalion was formed in 1756, and was reconstituted as the 70th Regiment of Foot in 1758. The regiment embarked for Pensacola in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

in 1765 but suffered heavy losses there due to

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

. The regiment moved to Saint Vincent in 1772 and lost its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Walsh, in an ambush by local tribesmen in January 1773. The regiment returned to England in 1774.Cannon, p. 35

American Revolutionary War

In May 1776 the regiment arrived in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

for service in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. It saw action at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in July 1777 but many of its men were taken prisoner at the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

in September 1777. In 1782 all regiments of the line without a royal title were given a county designation and the regiment became the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot. Following the ending of that war the regiment formed part of the garrison of

before returning to England in November 1787. The regiment was involved in suppressing the

Priestley Riots The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; the rioters' main targets were religious dissenters, most notably the politically and theologically controversial J ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

in July 1791.

French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars

The regiment took part in the capture of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

in March 1794, the capture of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and ...

in April 1794 and the capture of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Ameri ...

in May 1796 but suffered heavy losses due to fever before returning to England in 1797. It was also involved in the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 during the

Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British an ...

. The regiment was then posted to

in 1801. A 2nd battalion was again formed in 1805 and the regiment next took part in the Alexandria expedition in 1807. The 1st Battalion was stationed on Sicily in 1813. In March 1814, the 1st Battalion embarked for Northern Italy. Alongside the 8th Line Battalion, King's German Legion it took part in the Siege of Genoa (1814). In October 1808 after spending the previous year recruiting in Ireland the 2nd Battalion sailed from Dublin and landed at

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and ...

in Portugal, and took part in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

, including the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

in July 1809, the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sout ...

in May 1811, the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

in June 1813 and, having pursued the French Army into France, the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813 and the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

in February 1814. The regiment was reduced to a single battalion regiment on 24 October 1814 when the second battalion was disbanded at Portsmouth.

First Anglo-Afghan War

Following years of garrison duty in various stations in Europe, in 1824 the regiment were ordered to India under Colonel Pearson and Major McGrego. Some 54 men of the regiment died on 1 March 1825 when their transport, the

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

caught fire in the Bay of Biscay. One woman and 20 children affiliated with the regiment also died. The remainder of the 20 officers, 344 soldiers, 43 women, and 66 children, belonging to the regiment that had embarked on the vessel were rescued. As the official record expresses it: "In the midst of dangers against which it seemed hopeless to struggle-at a time when no aid appeared, and passively to die was all that remained-each man displayed the manly resignation, the ready obedience, and the unfailing discipline characteristics of a good soldier." With the outbreak of the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

in 1839, the regiment moved to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and fought with Sir

George Pollock Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet (4 June 1786 – 6 October 1872) was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore during the Second Anglo-Maratha War before taking part i ...

's avenging army at the Battle of Kabul in autumn 1842.

The Victorian era

The

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

broke out in 1845. The regiment, who had returned to India from Afghanistan in 1840, were part of the British force at the

Battle of Mudki The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845, between the forces of the East India Company and part of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The British army won an untidy encounter battle, suffering heavy casu ...

in December 1845, the

Battle of Ferozeshah The Battle of Ferozeshah was fought on 21 December and 22 December 1845 between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire, at the village of Ferozeshah in Punjab. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough and Governor-General Sir Henry Har ...

also in December 1845, the

Battle of Aliwal The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and Sikh forces in northern India (now Punjab). The British were led by Sir Harry Smith,Smith, Sir Harry. ‘'The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith Bar ...

in January 1846 and the

Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1846, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the decisive battle of th ...

in February 1846. The regiment arrived back in England in December 1846. In 1854 the regiment sailed to the Crimea, and fought at the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. The regiment next saw active service in China, moving there in 1860 during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire#Britain's imperial ...

and taking part in the capture of the

Taku Forts The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center. History The ...

. The regiment remained in China until 1863, and was involved in suppressing the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

. For the regiment's remaining separate existence it was based at various garrisons in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. As part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 31st was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 47 at

The Barracks, Kingston upon Thames The Barracks was a military installation in Kingston upon Thames. History The barracks were built on agricultural land between 1874 and 1875. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the

. The 70th had originally been formed as the regiment's 2nd Battalion in 1756.

Battle honours

The regiment was granted the following

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s:Sumner, p. 26–28 *Talavera ''(27 July 1809: awarded 1823)'' *Albuhera ''(16 May 1811: awarded 1816)'' *Vittoria ''(21 June 1813: awarded 1823)'' *Pyrenees ''(28 July – 2 August 1813: awarded 1817)'' *Nivelle ''(10 November 1813: awarded 1823)'' *Nive ''(9 – 13 December 1813: awarded 1823)'' *Orthes ''(27 February 1814: awarded 1847)'' *Peninsula ''(1808 – 1814: awarded to 2nd Battalion in 1815, to whole regiment in 1825)'' *Cabool, 1842 ''(August – September 1842: awarded 1844)'' *Moodkee ''(18 December 1845: awarded 1847)'' *Ferozeshah ''(21 December 1845: awarded 1847)'' *Aliwal ''(28 January 1846: awarded 1847)'' *Sobraon ''(10 February 1846: awarded 1849)'' *Sevastopol ''(1854 – 1855: awarded 1855)'' *Taku Forts ''(12 August 1860: awarded 1861)'' Two further honours were granted to the successor East Surrey Regiment for the services of the regiment. In 1882 the battle honour "Dettingen" was allowed and in 1909 "Gibraltar 1704–1705" was awarded.

Colonels

Colonels of the regiment have been as follows: *17û2–1703: Col George Villiers *1703–1706: Col Alexander Luttrell *1706–1711: Col Joshua Churchill *1711–1715: Col Sir Henry Goring, Bt.

31st Regiment of Foot

*1715–1728: Major-Gen Lord John Kerr *1728–1730: Major-Gen

Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart (1686 – 20 December 1740) was a British Army officer. Before 1732 he was known as The Honourable Charles Cathcart. Family He was the second son of Alan Cathcart, 7th Lord Cathcart by his wife Elizabeth, d ...

*1730–1737: Lt-Gen

William Hargrave Lieutenant General William Hargrave (died 21 January 1751) was a British Army officer and Governor of Gibraltar. Military career Hargrave was commissioned into Viscount Charlemonte's Regiment of Foot in 1694. He fought with his regiment in the ...

*1737–1745: Brig-Gen William Handasyde *1745–1749: Col Lord Henry Beauclerk *1749–1762: Lt-Gen Henry Holmes *1762–1780: Lt-Gen Sir James Adolphus Oughton KB *1780–1792: Gen Thomas Clarke

31st Huntingdonshire Regiment

*1792–1793: Major-Gen James Stuart *1793–1831: Gen

Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, (14 February 17557 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secr ...

GCB *1831–1834: Gen Sir Henry Warde GCB *1834–1838: Lt-Gen Sir Edward Barnes GCB *1838–1847: Gen Sir Colin Halkett GCB GCH *1847–1853: Gen Henry Otway Brand-Trevor, 21st Lord Dacre CB *1853–1859: Gen Sir Alexander Leith KCB *1859–1862: Gen Sir

Patrick Edmonstone Craigie General Sir Patrick "Peter" Edmonstone Craigie, (3 February 1794 – 13 December 1873) was a senior officer in the British Army. Life He was born the third son of Lawrence Craigie, later twice Lord Provost of Glasgow. He was educated at Glasgo ...

KCB *1862–1881: Gen Sir

Edward Lugard Sir Edward Lugard (8 May 1810 – 31 October 1898) was a British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General in India (1857–58) and later as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for War (1861–71) at the War Office. Early life Lugard was so ...

GCB

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 East Surrey Regiment Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations in Huntingdonshire Military units and formations established in 1702 Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1702 establishments in England